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dc.contributor.authorGammon, Michael
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-29 15:12:47 (GMT)
dc.date.available2022-09-29 15:12:47 (GMT)
dc.date.issued2022-09-29
dc.date.submitted2022-09-26
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10012/18844
dc.description.abstractIn this thesis a number of topics are explored in an attempt to further understand gravitation and highly dense matter on a fundamental level. The notion of “quark stars” (QS), hypothetical compact stars composed of quark matter (QM), are introduced. We apply a novel, unified, interacting QM equation of state to the Einstein-Maxwell equations in an attempt to model the stellar structure of a quark star with non-negligible confining effects from the strong interaction, and a net charge. Paired with charge distribution models from the literature, we find some general trends in how charge and the strong interaction affect stellar structure of QS, and also identify a new exotic quark star which can have a finite mass & radius with zero centre pressure. The stability of these configurations is also examined, and we find that in general, maximum mass and stability points are no longer coincident on the mass-radius curves. Following this, we discuss higher curvature gravity theories (HCTs), in which stress-energy is in general proportional to a sum of powers of the curvature tensor. We work out slowly rotating black hole solutions to the new four dimensional Gauss-Bonnet scalar-tensor gravity theory, and investigate physical properties like horizon structure, innermost stable time-like orbits (which predict accretion disk structure), and null orbits (defining the photon sphere and black hole shadow). We find that this theory makes very similar predictions to general relativity in most regimes, but limits the allowed parameter space for black holes. The findings in both of these projects can in principle be used to constrain parameters of the theories against observation.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity of Waterlooen
dc.subjectgeneral relativityen
dc.subjectgauss-bonnet gravityen
dc.subjecthcten
dc.subjectquark matteren
dc.subjectquark starsen
dc.subjectcharged quark starsen
dc.subjectslowly rotatingen
dc.subjectblack holeen
dc.subjectaccretion disken
dc.subjectshadowen
dc.subjectphoton sphereen
dc.subjectstabilityen
dc.subjectstrong interactionen
dc.titleBeyond General Relativity: New Structure and Stability Predictions from Modified Gravity and High-Density Interaction Modelsen
dc.typeMaster Thesisen
dc.pendingfalse
uws-etd.degree.departmentPhysics and Astronomyen
uws-etd.degree.disciplinePhysicsen
uws-etd.degree.grantorUniversity of Waterlooen
uws-etd.degreeMaster of Scienceen
uws-etd.embargo.terms0en
uws.contributor.advisorMann, Robert
uws.contributor.affiliation1Faculty of Scienceen
uws.published.cityWaterlooen
uws.published.countryCanadaen
uws.published.provinceOntarioen
uws.typeOfResourceTexten
uws.peerReviewStatusUnrevieweden
uws.scholarLevelGraduateen


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